ACCURACY OF MRCP COMPARED WITH ERCP IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF BILE DUCT STONES

Ali Hassoon Jasim, Salam Muhamed Jori and Jabir Hasan Obaid*

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to determine the accuracy of magnetic resonance cholangio- pancreatography (MRCP) compared with the endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) in the diagnosis of bile duct stones. During the period from Oct 2014 to March 2015, 52 patients with suspected common bile duct stones and a clear indication for ERCP were included in this prospective study. This study was carried out at the MRI and the ERCP units of Baghdad Medical City Office teaching hospitals. All the patients had both examinations performed within 1-2 week. Patients with absolute contraindications to the MRCP technique were excluded from the study because of the impossibility of their co-operation, as were patients with severe clinical conditions requiring urgent therapeutic intervention. During the study period; the chosen patients ages were ranged from 21 to 86 years, with a mean of 60.5 years, Thirty patients (57.7%) were females and Twenty two patients (42.3%) were males. a sensitivity of 87.8% and specificity of 94.7% were recorded for MRCP. This corresponds to a positive predictive value of 96.6% and a negative predictive value of 81.8%. We concluded that MRCP has high diagnostic accuracy for bile duct calculi; we propose MRCP as the method of choice for the diagnostic imaging of bile duct calculi; ERCP is reserved for therapeutic intervention in this setting.

Keywords: biliary stone, cholelithiasis diagnosis, MRCP, magnetic resonance cholangio pancreatography, ERCP, endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography.